This Week: We are featuring online events that you can participate in from the comfort of your own couch and some that you can safely leave the house for, plus a few calls for entry to get involved locally and nationally. Stay home, stay healthy, stay engaged in the arts.
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Artist Talk: The Absent Stone with Jesse Lerner and Sandra Rosental
Thursday, August 5 • 5:30-6pm
presented by The Walters Art Museum
Join filmmakers Sandra Rosental and Jesse Lerner in conversation with Ellen Hoobler, William B. Ziff, Jr., Associate Curator of the Art of the Americas, 1200 BCE–1500 CE, for a discussion about their film The Absent Stone.
This program is part of a series exploring themes from the Walters’ exhibition Translations and Transitions / Traducciones y Transiciones: A Celebration of Mexican and Central American Independence (1821–2021). This program’s introduction will be bilingual, and we encourage you to ask questions in Spanish and English.
About the Filmmakers
Jesse Lerner is a documentary filmmaker, curator, and writer based in Los Angeles. His short films Natives (1991, with Scott Sterling), Magnavoz (2006), and T.S.H. (2004), and the feature-length experimental documentaries Frontierland (1995, with Rubén Ortiz Torres), Ruins (1999), The American Egypt (2001), Atomic Sublime (2010), and The Absent Stone (2013, with Sandra Rozental) have won numerous prizes at film festivals in the United States, Latin America, and Japan, and have screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Sundance, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles Film Festivals. His books include The Maya of Modernism, F is for Phony: Fake Documentary and Truth’s Undoing (with Alex Juhasz), Ism Ism Ism (with Luciano Piazza), The Catherwood Project(with Leandro Katz), L.A. Collects L.A. (with Rubén Ortiz Torres) and The Shock of Modernity.
Sandra Rozental is a cultural anthropologist whose research explores national patrimony and heritage claims generated by the extraction of archaeological objects from local communities and other state-making enterprises. She is currently an associate professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa in Mexico City where she teaches on museums, collections, science studies, contemporary art, and film. She has worked as an exhibitions researcher and curator in anthropology museums and cultural institutions in Mexico and has collaborated with artists and curators on several installations in museums and galleries. The Absent Stone (2013, with Jesse Lerner) is her first film. The film has received several awards, including the Ann Arbor Film Festival Jury Award, and has screened in festivals, museums, and theaters in Mexico and abroad. She recently edited the book Museum Matters: Making and Unmaking Mexico’s National Collections (with Miruna Achim and Susan Deans-Smith, University of Arizona Press, 2021).
Please note: This event is virtual and is available exclusively on our Facebook and YouTube pages. You don’t need an account on either platform to enjoy the program.
About the image: Screenshot of The Absent Stone, 2013.
Thursday Nights are supported by BGE.
Voices of Carmen Performance – Ynot Lot
Tuesday, August 3 • 4-5:30
presented by Voices of Carmen
The Musical Voices Carmen combines fresh new arrangements of George Bizet’s Opera Carmen plus original songs, from Pop to Rap, Opera and R&B, written and arranged by CJay and Winston Philip. Voices of Carmen brings a contemporary spin to this iconic story.
About the Program
Camp Carmen is a five-week on-the-job training program in the performing arts where youth 14-21years collaborate with teaching artists to create a musical adaptation of the opera Carmen called Voices of Carmen. Participants are hired to work as either the performing cast or production crew. Each week campers participate in professional development workshops in creative, resume and bio writing. They also practice public speaking to hone new skills in a supportive environment. In addition to career and creative workshops, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is woven into the program with a focus on emotional intelligence and nonviolent communication. Restorative Response Baltimore leads sessions on conflict resolution and the House of Ruth Maryland leads a teen workshop on healthy relationships.
What is Voices of Carmen
Synopsis
Ms. Schuler’s High School literature class reads Carmen, a novella by Prosper Merimee while music students in Mr. Gary’s class play the opera Carmen by George Bizet across the hall. To bring the text to life, students take turns acting out the story. We follow along as multiple students play Don Jose who intends to marry his hometown sweetheart Micaela until his plans are interrupted by unexpected chemistry with Carmen. Their relationship is short-lived amid conflict, jealousy, and a lovers triangle. The classroom storytelling takes a surprising turn that propels this lovers’ tragedy to a contemporary time and place.
SAY IT LOUD Maryland “Hear Our Voices” Virtual Panel
Friday, August 6 • 1-2pm
presented by AIA Baltimore
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact [email protected]. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present a series of 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. This special presentation is hosted in partnership with Bmore NOMA.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage and Bmore NOMA. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.
To celebrate the virtual launch of SAY IT LOUD Maryland, join us for a panel discussion featuring four of the winners included in the exhibition. They will speak to their experiences as diverse professionals in Baltimore and the projects they are most proud of.
The physical SAY IT LOUD Maryland exhibition will open at the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design in October 2021.
Pascale Sablan, FAIA, founder and Executive Director of Beyond the Built Environment will introduce the exhibition and moderate the panel.
Panel:
Helen Ross Staley
Helen Ross Staley is the first woman to become a member of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1955). She studied Interior Design at Stephens College in Missouri & transferred to University of Pennsylvania in 1940 for a Bachelors of Architecture degree. She won 1st place in a national Beaux Arts Institute of Design competition and was offered her first job working in New York City by one of the judges. Eventually she moved to Maryland to be with her high school sweetheart who returned from the war. They raised 4 beautiful children while she had her own practice, mostly residential work, with some commercial & institutional projects.
Charlston Britton Jr., Assoc. AIA, NOMA
A native of New Orleans, Charlston Britton is an architectural designer working in Baltimore. In 2015 he was named as a LSU McNair Scholar and conducted design research on urban resilience and flood shelters. While studying at the WAAC in 2016, he was awarded the Product Making Award in Experimentation for his distinguished process in the exploration of materials and forms. He currently serves as chair of the AIA Baltimore EP Committee and has recently completed their 2021 CivicLAB program.
Nakita Reed, AIA, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C, NOMA
Nakita Reed is an award-winning preservation architect who focuses on sustainability. She’s a registered architect, LEED AP, and a certified Passive House Consultant. She serves on the boards of Preservation Maryland, the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and is the host of the Tangible Remnants podcast, which explores the intersection of architecture, preservation, sustainability, race & gender. She has a MArch and a MS in Historic Preservation from UPENN and a BS in Architecture from UVA.
Sarsfield Williams Jr.
Sarsfield Williams Jr. is a native Baltimorean youth advocate, with 30+ years of organizational development and construction experience. My work seeks to inspire imagination in Baltimore City’s most vulnerable children by revitalizing mixed-income communities that foster life-long relationships and simultaneously address Black wealth inequality. As the Founding Principal at ASPIREhomes, we build in support of Black families and the need for restorative cultural pride in the African Diaspora.
Tertium Quid | Virtual Guided Tour
Friday, August 6 • 6pm | Ongoing through September 27
presented by The Korean Cultural Center
The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents Tertium Quid, a new exhibition featuring unconventional sculpture, installation, and painting works by three Korean emerging artists originally selected as a curated group during the KCCDC’s 2020 Open Call for Artists, on view August 6 – September 27.
The title of the exhibition, Tertium Quid, refers to an unidentified third thing which ironically is identified through two distinct or opposite things that are definite or known. Through their creative practice, these three artists explore the concept of a surface itself as an indicator, container, or the essence of something that exists in between, further suggesting surface as a visibly transparent yet ambiguous entity. This concept functions physically and conceptually as a vehicle to manifest contrasting notions or dualities such as abstract and figurative, interior and exterior, and existence and non-existence—thereby investigating the tertium quid that are neither one nor the other.
Hae Won Sohn researches the inherited and acquired characteristics of artifacts and their individuality, in relation to the system and construction of traditional hand-made ceramics. She presents an innovative form of sculpture and installation by reconstructing segments of ceramic prototypes that are intentionally or naturally derived from the standardized ceramic manufacturing process.
Jaejoon Jang forges a visual narrative by transforming natural or man-made daily objects through careful arrangement. The deconstructed and combined collective pieces reflect various moments of people and society and create a implied dialogue with the artist’s unique perspective.
Yoory Jung reinterprets the process of making Cheongja (청자), Korean traditional celadon, into contemporary abstract painting based on her own identity. Employing minimalistic composition and the calmness of monochrome, Jung captures the detailed textures and colors of Celadon’s glazed surface, exploring its subtle changes and inherent nature.
This exhibition aims to provide an opportunity to share the passion and fresh perspective of experimental and norm-challenging young Korean artists. The KCCDC strives to continue actively supporting the creativity of talented Korean artists in the contemporary art world.
Tertium Quid will remain on view August 6 through September 27, 2021 (walk-in hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., excluding 12 – 1 p.m., Monday – Friday). The virtual guided tour, offering an inside look at each artist’s creative themes, processes, and inspirations, will release on Friday, August 6 at 6p.m. on the KCCDC YouTube and Instagram channels (@KoreaCultureDC).
Kei Ito: Our Looming Ground Zero Exhibition | Opening Reception
Friday, August 6 • 6-8pm | Ongoing through September 18
@ Creative Alliance
On Display: AUG 6 – SEP 18
Opening Reception: FRI AUG 6 | 6-8PM
Visit in person: Creative Alliance will be open on Saturdays Noon to 5pm
Our Looming Ground Zero is a multimedia solo exhibition featuring the work of Kei Ito, a visual artist who examines global traumas through a multitude of times and experiences originating in his grandfather’s survival of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during WWII. Ito’s large scale installation examines the reality of nuclear annihilation that could occur at any moment, as well as Ito’s inherited trauma of the bombing and radiation of the past. Featuring new artworks, Our Looming Ground Zero creates a space to experience and contemplate on the ideas of invisible threats and global traumas made more poignant by the massive global crisis the world is still experiencing together.
Maxine Taylor: Bramble and Brush | Opening Reception
Friday, August 6 • 6-8pm | Ongoing through September 18
@ Creative Alliance
On Display: AUG 6 – SEP 18
Reception: FRI AUG 6 | 6PM – 8PM
Visit in person: Creative Alliance will be open on Saturdays Noon to 5pm
Painting allows subconscious feelings to move out of the body, travel down the arm and to emerge via the brush creating color, shape and content.
Collage presents an opportunity to re-engage the heart of unfinished paintings, to breathe new life into them and to more fully develop their composition.
“There aren’t always words to explain feelings, but the feelings need to be expressed to develop a thorough understanding and to communicate. My intent is to show the value of using unconscious feelings as a guide for self-expression. I paint because I don’t always have the right words to express what’s inside.”
LuX | Opening Reception
Friday, August 6 • 7-10pm | Ongoing through August 28
@ Current Space
Current Space is proud to present ‘LuX,’ a group exhibition featuring the works of Erick Antonio Benitez, Carolyn Forrester, Sylv Litz, Bing Liu, Danni O’Brien, and Bartosz Tararuj; curated by Erick Antonio Benitez. Please join us for the opening reception.
Opening Reception: Friday, August 6th, 7-10pm
Exhibition Duration: August 6th – August 28th
Image: Detail of work by Bing Liu
Hostipitality | Opening Reception
Saturday, August 7 • 6-8pm | Ongoing through August 28
@ Inadequate Lighting
In Hostipitality, Misha Ilin investigates our laws of hospitality in relation to the practice of hostility through the situation of an auction. By constructing a metaphor of unlimited hospitality with respect to the last ultimately free resource, air, the artist seeks to problematize its cultural and socio-economic reading within our biopolitical context. The exhibition will open with an auction to define the price of the air in the space of the gallery and its tentative owner; the results of the auction will also determine the laws of hospitality that will obtain within the gallery space throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Air is the main element of the exhibition both formally and conceptually. Air is introduced into the exposition through various objects that inform the viewer of the air’s presence or of its absence. Ilin seeks to highlight this contrast by creating an environment of celebration with objects that transfer or contain air in different forms, be it sparkling wine or balloons gradually deflating over the duration of the show, staged in opposition to x-ray lightboxes and screens that illuminate images of dystopian or extra-terrestrial environments in which air is absent or in which one’s rights to the use of the air were deprived.
The exhibition opening will take place from 6 to 8 pm on Saturday, August 7th, with the auction event starting promptly at 7pm. RSVPs appreciated but not required. Inadequate Lighting is located at 915 Saint Paul St, Apt 1F. Ring bell at left for entry.
Calls for Entry // Opportunities
“Our Stories Festival” | Call for Storytellers
deadline August 6
sponsored by The Asian Arts &_Culture_Center (AA&CC) at TU
Have a story to tell? The Asian Arts &_Culture_Center (AA&CC) at TU will present the second “Our Stories Festival” this fall. This Artists can share and explore personal and cultural stories from around the world through narrative, animation, music, art, and more. The virtual festival seeks to feature the works of artists of all cultural backgrounds, and provides a space for sharing diverse artistic expressions.
More Info/Apply: http://ow.ly/jtDc50FwLVb
Arts Educator & Artist Campaign School
deadline August 6
sponsored by Maryland Citizens for the Arts
If you are interested in information sessions about the Arts Educator Campaign School, please fill out the INTEREST FORM.
If you are interested in the Arts Educator Campaign School, please fill out the APPLICATION.
*Important dates for the application*
The Rubys Artist Grants
deadline August 15
sponsored by Robert W. Deutsch Foundation
The Rubys Artist Grants were established by the Deutsch Foundation in 2013 to provide project-based funding for individual artists. The goal of the program is to provide meaningful support directly to artists for the creation of new work. The Rubys is open to artists at any stage of their career and favors projects that have significant creative work left to accomplish. Grants will enable individual artists to create or complete a project that will include a public component occurring at some point during the grant period.
The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation invests in innovative people, projects, and ideas that improve the quality of life in Baltimore and beyond. The Foundation believes that arts and culture can activate, amplify, and extend the power and reach of marginalized voices, and so the Foundation consciously shifted to invest in Baltimore arts as an approach to equitable community development. With a focus on hyperlocal grantmaking, advocacy, and catalyzing initiatives, our investments in arts and culture – at every level – touch the full breadth of our work.
The Rubys is founded on the notion of risk-taking, whether in practice, content, process, and/or outcome, and equally values:
• Artistic integrity (I am a creator of original art)
• Strong ideas (My artistic mission and creative process is clear, connected, and relevant)
• Feasibility (I know how to get the job done)
• Connection to audience (I understand how I want an audience/visitor to experience my
work)
Artists who reside in Baltimore City or Baltimore County may apply for grants of up to $15,000 to be applied to an original project of their own work over a 12-month period. Artists may submit only one application during each funding round. Grants may be used to support projects that are already in progress, a project not yet begun, or a distinct phase of a longer-term project. Eligible budget expenses within the grant can also include personal overhead needs. (Please read the budget instructions for more details.) Preference is given to applications that demonstrate there is significant creative work left to be done.
For 2021: In previous years, the Rubys Artist Grants required that project proposals included a public component to occur at some point during the grant period. For 2021, the public component requirement is optional, due to the uncertainty of public gathering limits. If you find that you can and want to create a public event (safely) for your project, then you may include ideas in your application proposal; though this is not required.
Art Howard County 2021 | Call for Artists
deadline August 22
sponsored by Howard County Arts Council
The Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) in Ellicott City, Maryland, is seeking entries for Art Howard County 2021, a biennial multi-media juried exhibit. Entry is open to visual artists 18 years or older who live, work or study in Howard County, Maryland.
The juror for Art Howard County 2021 is Freda Lee-McCann, a Chinese American artist whose work focuses on merging Western traditions with the black ink brushwork of traditional Chinese paintings. Learn more at fredalee.com.
Details for entry are available in the Exhibit Opportunities section of the Arts Council website at hocoarts.org. The deadline for submissions is 11:59pm on Sunday, August 22, 2021.
Art Howard County 2021 will be on display in Gallery I at the Howard County Center for the Arts from October 16 through November 27, 2021. A free public reception on October 22 will include juror remarks as well as the presentation of a minimum of $500 in juror awards.
Current gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday 10am-8pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gallery hours are subject to change. Please check the website at hocoarts.org to ensure the Center is open before visiting. All visitors to the Center for the Arts are expected to observe posted COVID-19 safety protocols. For more information, visit hocoarts.org or call 410-313-ARTS (2787).
2022 In-Person Craft Marketplaces | Call for Applications
deadline August 23
sponsored by American Craft Council
We are currently accepting artist applications for our 2022 in-person craft marketplaces, and I wanted to see if you’d be interested in partnering with us to help spread the word. Our two events in Baltimore and St. Paul, Minnesota, are open to artists from across the country, will feature a brand new e-commerce component, and are great opportunities for artists to sell their work and connect with an engaged audience of craft enthusiasts and collectors. Artists new to ACC marketplaces can also apply via our Emerging Artists program.
Full details and the application form can be found at the link below, and I am also attaching a few graphics for cross-promotion. Applications close August 23, 2021.
https://go.craftcouncil.org/
The Contemporary Landscape | Call for Submissions
deadline August 29
sponsored by the SE Center for Photography
The landscape, whether grand or personal, has been a subject of photography since the beginning and played an important role in establishing photography as a fine art medium. Early on, both in history and most photographers’ experience, the landscape was one of most accessible and familiar subjects available.
Our juror for the Contemporary Landscape is William Neill. William Neill, a resident of the Yosemite National Park area since 1977, is a landscape photographer concerned with conveying the deep, spiritual beauty he sees and feels in Nature. Neill’s award-winning photography has been widely published in books, magazines, calendars, posters, and his limited-edition prints have been collected and exhibited in museums and galleries nationally, including the Museum of Fine Art Boston, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, The Vernon Collection, and The Polaroid Collection.
35-40 Selected images will hang in the SE Center’s main gallery space for approximately one month with the opportunity to be invited for a solo show at a later date. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slideshow. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Brown Sugar Bake-Off: A Black Woman Play Festival | Call for Submissions
deadline September 3
sponsored by Two Strikes Theatre Collective
>Inspired by Paula Vogel’s Bake-Offs, Black women focused Two Strikes Theatre Collective announces the Brown Sugar Bake-Off, a celebration of Black women creatives and the stories they have to tell. In its second year, the Brown Sugar Bake-Off will focus on a new theme: BODY. Misogynoir, colorism, objectification, and body-shaming are a part of the Black woman’s experience. Brown Sugar Bake-Off 2021 will focus on what it means to take ownership after an undeniable history of policing Black and Brown bodies. “This year’s festival will be better than ever. We continue to showcase new talent in writing, acting and directing. It’s great to see new faces show up to our annual event each year”, says Rachel Wilson, Two Strikes Theatre Collective board member.
Two Strikes Theatre Collective is searching for Black women and non-binary playwrights to write ten-minute performance pieces using the following ingredients (physical, literal or symbolic): shapewear, peach/peach emoji, a mirror, colorism, fitting room, BMI and brown sugar. A panel of readers will select several plays for the virtual production in October 2021. Stipends will be provided to all Festival participants.
On August 7th, Two Strikes Theatre Collective will offer a free writing workshop hosted by educator and Playwriting Development Director Christen Cromwell. This free workshop is designed for those who would like to participate in the Festival but may not know where to begin or need a refresher on how to write a short play. Interested in joining the workshop? Email [email protected] to sign up.
Submissions will be accepted by midnight September 3rd via Google Forms. Information on how to submit, festival guidelines, and production dates can be found at www.twostrikescollective.com/
This week's news includes: Baynard Woods on Larry Hogan's "error-laden" memoir, BMI's new Labor Activism Exhibit, Blacksauce Kitchen, Joyce J. Scott, Glenstone Outdoors this Summer, Rob Lee profiles Anthony Gittens, BSO's Summerfest at the Meyerhoff–and more!
This Week: Bill Schmidt and scholar Kristen Hileman in conversation at C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore School for the Arts Senior Recitals, Work Matters lecture at BMI, Rent Party at Baltimore Museum of Art, Jami Attenberg at Greedy Reads Remington, Out of Order (OOO) and more!
This week's news includes: 25th Annual Maryland Film Festival, Aubrey Plaza cast in John Waters' Liarmouth, Lena Stringari appointed Chief of Conservation at the National Gallery - with reporting from Baltimore Fishbowl, Banner, Brew, and other local and independent news sources!
This Week: Share Your Why artist talk at Motor House, free admission to Walk a Mile in My Dreams + panel discussion with Joyce J. Scott at the BMA, Revolution in our Lifetime roundtable discussion at The Peale, Station North Art Walk, Sprung reception at Waller Gallery, and more!
